This is 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' ('BOTB') where you listen to different recordings of the same song and vote for the one you like best. A new Battle gets posted on the 1st and 15th of each month and six days later, on the 7th and 21st, I place my own vote, tally 'em all up and announce the winner.

.

Friend? Foe? Stranger? No matter, ALL are welcome. So pull up a chair, pour yourself 24 oz. of DOG BITE High Gravity Lager (or the poison of your choice) and turn it up to Eleven!

.

[NOTE: Links to the first year of 'BOTB' (#1 - #24) can be found at the very bottom of this page.]

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Where would Roy Rogers have been
without Trigger? Where would The Lone Ranger have been without Silver?
And Pecos Bill without Widowmaker, or Doc Holliday without Big Nose
Kate?

The indisputable fact is that every cowboy needs a horse to ride.
And what with the price of gasoline and oats these days, is it any
surprise that many of us urban cowboys have shifted to the two-wheeled
variety of equine transportation?

The other day - just on a whim
- I did a search to see if anything would come up when I
entered in the name and style of my deeply beloved bicycle, THE HUFFY
"GOOD VIBRATIONS" model cruiser. How exuberantly surprised I was to
find myself staring at a photograph of my lovely, faithful "steed."
It's still being made. Hooray! "Classic" cruisers are still in and I'm
still astride mine (even if the "fenders" are long gone.)

Let me
tell you about my bike: I bought my Huffy "GOOD VIBRATIONS" cruiser at
Pep Boys in downtown Santa Monica, California, circa 1980. (It looks
identical to the one pictured here.) I've probably logged over 144,000
miles on mine. I used to pedal it every day before work on the beach
bike path for exercise and for just the pure joy of it. My favorite
ride took me from underneath the Santa Monica pier, through the human
carnival of Venice Beach, around the boat slips of Marina Del Rey, and
along the sand through El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach,
Redondo Beach, to the outskirts of Torrance, and then back again. Or to
put it more succinctly: My favorite ride was Heaven on Earth!

And
note: With the barest minimum of maintenance, I'm still riding on "GOOD
VIBRATIONS." Yeah, uh-huh, that's right. About 26 years after buying
my bike, it and
I are still the best of friends; I'm still planting my "cushions" on
its seat and still pedaling along the canals, to the horse track, or to
the grocery store, or to work. Now, how many years have you been
driving your car? Think you'll get 26 years out of it? Will you get 26
years out of your job? How 'bout your marriage? Yeah, what I'm saying
is that "GOOD VIBRATIONS" last and last...

But I had a real
scare recently: The bearings in the doohickey that connects to the
thingamajig had gotten wrecked and the handlebars were loose in the
whatchamacallit. (Rode it that way for over a year anyway.)

Finally,
took it in to a bike shop and "Homeboy" tells me to throw my best friend
into a dumpster. "Homeboy" says it can't be repaired. According to
"Homeboy" the bike was basically junk when brand new, and that the fork
could break on me at any moment and put me in the hospital.

Well,
certain that "GOOD VIBRATIONS" could never hurt me, I put my buddy in
the bed of my truck and drove it from Phoenix, Airheadzona, to Santa
Monica, California, for one last beach bike path ride. I figured that if
it broke on me along the way, I'd just leave it on the beach to R.I.P.
(Rust In Pieces).

Well, we made it from the Santa Monica pier to
Torrance and back, just like the good ol' days! The other riders could
hear us comin' up on 'em because "GOOD VIBRATIONS" was loudly going
"SQUEEEK - KREEEK - RATTLE - GROAN! SQUEEEK - KREEEK - RATTLE - GROAN!"
Other bikers probably thought he was crying in pain, but I recognized
those sounds for what they really were: SINGING! JOYFUL SINGING!

Back
home, Good Friend Melanie suggested that I take "GOOD VIBRATIONS" to
see the nice, old gentleman who owns ROADRUNNER BIKE CENTER in Glendale,
AZ. Two weeks later and only $34.59 lighter, "GOOD VIBRATIONS" is as
good as new and ready to hit the canals again as soon as the weather
cools down! (Why, that dirty dog at the first bike shop! I think
"Homeboy" just wanted to sell me some newfangled, multi-geared "horse.")

Only
one thing concerns me: My bike is clearly labeled "HUFFY - MADE IN
U.S.A." Are "GOOD VIBRATIONS" still made here, or are they now
produced in China? I urge you to investigate before buying because
"GOOD AMERICANS" don't financially support Coummunist countries that
utilize slave labor, threaten their neighbors, imprison the religious,
and force abortions on their women. Right?

But first, I want to announce our newest BOTBersJeffreyScottof the blog'J.A. Scott'and MadilynQuinn of the blog'NovelBrews'.Please be sure to visit them, cast a vote on their debut Battles and make them feel welcome. Thanks!

.

Alright,
let’s get on it...

.

EUGENE MARTONE VS. JACK BUTLER

.In my last BOTB installment, I used the Traffic original 'Medicated Goo' against the cover by Kracker. Today, I am again using a Traffic song but this time the band Traffic won't be competing. This is cover vs. cover, and English Rocker vs. American Band.

.

GOODNIKS VS. NO-GOODNIKS

.At the Woodstock music festival in 1969, British Blues-Rock singer JOE COCKER performed a number of cover tunes including one written by The Beatles, three written by Bob Dylan, and three written by Traffic. One of the three Traffic tunes was FEELIN'ALRIGHT, which became a Billboard Top 40 hit for Cocker in 1972.

The popular singer had a total of nine Top 40 hits in his career. Let's hear his sixth one, FEELIN'ALRIGHT, which incidentally was not a hit for the original artist, Traffic. In fact, oddly, Traffic never had a Top 40 hit in the U.S. It wasn't until the band broke up that some of its individual members began scoring American radio hits.

.
Joe Cocker's competition is the Detroit band RARE EARTH. Although they are largely forgotten today, Rare Earth had a total of six Billboard Top 40 hits in the 1970s. Their highest charting single was 'Get Ready', at #4, although it seems that today the hit that gets the most airplay on Classic Rock stations is 'I Just Want To Celebrate', which went to #7.

Rare Earth was the 4th all-White band signed by the Motown label, and the first to score any hit songs. Their version of FEELIN'ALRIGHT was not a hit for the band, but let's hear it regardless:

Alright
now, “you know the gig”... I welcome you (whoever you are) to vote for your favorite of these songs in the comment section
below. And feel free to tell us WHY
you chose one song over the other..After
voting here, I
suggest - actually I insist - you pop over to the blogs of the other
'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' participants to see which songs they have
chosen and vote there also.
(If their ‘BOTB’ blog bits aren’t posted yet, pour yourself two
shots of ‘Grand Marnier’ over ice – do it twice
– and then return to their blogs to vice
your voice
...vote
your vice
...voice your vote.) .Voice
Your Vote
@ ‘FARAWAYSERIES’
by clicking HERE.@
‘TOSSINGITOUT’
by clicking HERE.@
‘YOURDAILYDOSE’
by clicking HERE.@
'BOOKLOVER'
by clicking HERE.@
'MIKE'SRAMBLINGS'
by clicking HERE.@
'CURIOUSASACATHY'
by clicking HERE.@
'THESOUNDOFONEHANDTYPING'
by clicking HERE.@ 'DCRELIEF - BATTLEOFTHEBANDS' by clicking HERE.@ 'THISBELLEROCKS' by clicking HERE.@ 'THEDOGLADY'SDEN' by clicking HERE.@ 'CHERDOONTHEFLIPSIDE' by clicking HERE. @ 'ANGELSBARK' by clicking HERE.@ 'JINGLEJANGLEJUNGLE' by clicking HERE.@ 'WOMEN: WESHALLOVERCOME' by clicking HERE.@ 'J.A.SCOTT' by clicking HERE.@ 'NOVELBREWS' by clicking HERE. .As
I've done in the past, I will continue to return to my 'BOTB' blog
bits on the 7th and 21st of each month to post my own votes and
announce the winners in the comment sections..~
Stephen T. McCarthy.

Friday, June 12, 2015

.
8/8/1967.
The “Summer Of Love”. My eighth birthday. I received my first ever
music album: ‘TheMonkees’..

.
There were two things that most rocked my
world back then: TheMonkees and Batman and Catwoman(Julie
New - mmmmm! - mar). OK, that’s three things. My math was never very good.

STEPHEN ON HIS 8th BIRTHDAY, WITH MONKEES GUITAR AND 'THEMONKEES' RECORD ALBUM IN BACKGROUND. FLANKED BY SISTER BONEHEAD AND BROTHER NAPOLEON

In
retrospect – after it was way too late – I came to realize that I
should have made a career in the music field. I was always interested in
a variety of creative paths, but the one I didn’t really explore enough
– music – is the one I should have focused on. Oh well, next lifetime.

I
may have liked ‘Theme From The Monkees’ and ‘Last Train To Clarksville’
better than ‘I Wanna Be Free’ back when I was eight, but ‘…Free’ better
illustrates the mind-set I would develop later in life. And because the
song is not even two and a half minutes long and because its vocalist,
Davy Jones, stood only 5 feet 3 inches tall, I’m counting this as only
half a song (so there will be a "Bonus Track").

1966:I wanna be free,Like the bluebirds flying by meLike the waves out on the blue sea.If your love has to tie me, don't try me,Say goodbye.

I wanna be free,Don't say you love me, say you like me,But when I need you beside me,Stay close enough to guide me,Confide in me,Oh-oh-oh

I wanna hold your hand,

Walk along the sand

Laughing in the sun,

Always having fun

Doing all those things

Without any strings

To tie me down.

I wanna be freeLike the warm September wind, babeSay you'll always be my friend, babeWe can make it to the end, babeAgain, babe, I gotta say:I wanna be freeI wanna be freeI wanna be free

One thing I still appreciate about Davy Jones (my favorite Monkee) was his willingness to make jokes about his lack of height. It takes a big man to do that.

The Monkees were created as America's television answer to The Beatles. The show was a lot of wacky fun and I was a Monkees fanatic back then. Today, I even have a DVD titled 'OurFavoriteEpisodes'. Each Monkee (Davy, Micky, Peter & Mike) was asked to name their favorite episode, and all 4 of those were collected on this DVD.

FUNFACTS:

It was probably in 1970 that I made the mistake of trading my Monkees album, which I'd received on my 8th birthday, to my friend Greg for his LP 'IncenseAndPeppermints' by The Strawberry Alarm Clock. Years later, I greatly regretted that trade. But my "Mommy made it all better" when, in 2003, she gave me that same recording on compact disc for my birthday.

Half a block from the world famous OK Corral there used to be a small drinking
establishment, a gin joint, a hooch parlor, a silly shack called 'The
Lucky Cuss Saloon'. (I believe it later changed its name to 'Legends Of
The West'.) I mean, this place was a real dive. I really liked it. It
was my favorite bar in Tombstone. And it was also right next door to
where Morgan Earp was shot and killed through the back alley window of a
billiard room. Some say the ghost of Morgan Earp haunted the saloon's
back room.

I remember being
in The Lucky Cuss Saloon one night (late 1991 or early '92) with my girlfriend "The Countess", when this couple of tourists, a man
and woman from jolly old England, came in, sat down and ordered drinks. There were only us two couples and the bartender in the saloon.

Me being the troublemaker that I am, it wasn’t long before I happened to mention (justloud enough) to The Countess that The Monkees were better than The Beatles. Of
course that’s total balderdash. I knew it perfectly well. But what the
heck, I had to defend us Americans on our own Western turf, didn’t I?

It
wasn’t long before there was a pretty... uhm.. “spirited"... discussion
going on about which band was better. I defended The Monkees with
everything I had, and I really enjoyed the... uh... conversation. It was touch-and-go there for awhile about whether or not this was going to turn into
“The OK Corral Shootout, Part 2”. To steal a line from Bugs Bunny: “Ain’t I a stinker?”

BONUSTRACK:

I STILL enjoy the wackiness of The Monkees. That had to be some of the funnest money ever made:

In August of 1959, three weeks after the “sell by” date, I entered “this
world” kicking, screaming, crying and fighting at the ‘University of
California, Los Angeles Medical Center’:

SEE RED BRICK BUILDING IN CENTER OF PHOTO.

The
first song that I can remember being aware of and being entertained by
is ‘HomeOnTheRange’ by TheSonsOfThePioneers. I was about five
years old then and I had a yellow plastic Colt .45 that made a clicking sound when the trigger was pulled.

RIGHT GUN, WRONG COLOR

RIGHT KID, NOT IN COLOR.

I used to put my ‘Home On The
Range’ .45 on to my children’s record player and run around my bedroom
shooting my .45. It’s hard to believe, but I actually still
have the single:

BACK IN THE "OLD DAYS", RECORDS WERE SQUARE.

1964:Home, home on the range,Where the deer and the antelope play.Where seldom is heardA discouraging word,And the skies are not cloudy all day . . .

.
and welcome to my ____ ...(What's the word I'm looking for here? Anybody? "Yes, you in the, uh, vest, is it?")... of today's Bonehead Blog Hop. More Boneheads can be found HERE.."Why don't you forget the moose... for a moment?!"

Yes, forget the moose (forget 'Mr. Know-It-All', too), because what we are talking about here today is forgetfulness, but it has nuttin' to do with mooses. What it has to do with is... is... uhm... well, boy-howdy, I forget what it has to do with. (You know, he really MUST have hated that moose, don'tcha think?)

...Dogs! Well, not dogs, but DOGGYBAGS! That's the forgetful thing we're remembering to yak about here today. (Now I remember!)

Is there any one thing that you can do better'n anyone else can? Most people would answer no to that question, but I can answer yes.

Nobody ever lived who could forget their doggy bags better'n I could. If every doggy bag I ever asked for in a restaurant and then left sitting on the table when I walked out could magically appear before me right this second, I could eat for about a year. (Of course, some of those leftovers may be a bit stale at this point.)

Seriously, I have no idea how many doggy bags I've requested and then forgotten to take home with me, but it's a prodigious number, whatever it is. Some of my "doggy-bag-forgetfulness" may have had something to do with alcohol ("I can't decide"), but I've proven many times over that I can also forget a doggy bag while stone-cold sober. (Ooh! Don't say that word! Don't use that kind of language around me.) The forgotten doggy bags that I have most kicked myself about were the many I left in La Barbera's Italian restaurant in the early 1980s. They had the BEST pizza EVER!... ANYWHERE! (Just ask anyone who had it.)

"FOOD TO TAKE OUT" - yeah, good luck with that!

La Barbera's pizza was so monstrous that I could never finish it, but it was way too damned good to leave there. So I'd always ask for my leftovers in a doggy bag. I figured that pizza was gonna taste so good for lunch tomorrow when I was hungover. Never happened. Well, truthfully, it DID happen... once. The reason I remember that is because it was such an extraordinary event: I'd asked for my leftover La Barbera's pizza to be put in a doggy bag, and when I woke up the next morning, THEREITWAS! ...on top of the TV set.Makes me cry to think of it, because La Barbera's is long gone. The family eventually sold the property so some high-rise office building or strip mall could be put up on the spot where their legendary restaurant had stood for many years.But, of course, I didn't just forget my doggy bags at La Barbera's. I forgot 'em at Pinocchio's, too. And at Paco's. And at The Broken Drum, and at Zucky's and every other restaurant where I couldn't finish my meal. *Sniffle-Sniffle* I really miss my Shannonsdoggy bags.In recent years, I seem to have gotten a bit better about remembering to take my doggy bags with me. It seems the more I age, the better my doggy-bag-memory gets. Go figure...Now if I can just find where I left my car keys. They're probably hanging out somewhere with my eyeglasses. Hmmm... I haven't looked for them in the refrigerator where my doggy bag is. Anyone wanna place a bet on this?

[Be aware that the voting window for my most recent 'BattleOfTheBands' installment (Traffic Vs. Kracker) is still open for this one last day. If you haven't voted and want to, click HERE]

.
The band 'TRAFFIC' was an influential hybrid of Rock, Folk and
Jazz. It was formed in the late 1960s and its first lineup included
Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. All of them went
on to have notable solo careers.
The song 'MEDICATEDGOO'
was written by Winwood and producer Jimmy Miller. Let's hear it first.
(I'm providing you with the lyrics. You can thank me later.).

Good Golly, Polly, shame on you'Cause Molly made a stew that'll make a newer girl out of you

So follow me, it's good for youThat good old fashioned Medicated Goo

Ooo, ain't it good for you!

My own homegrown recipe'll see you through

Freaky Freddy Frolic had some, I know

He was last seen picking green flowers in a field of snowGet ready, Freddy, they're sure to growMother nature just blew itand there's nothing really to it, I know

So follow me, it's good for youThat good old-fashioned Medicated Goo

Ooo, ain't it good for you!

My own homegrown recipe'll see you through

Aunty Franny Prickett and Uncle Lou

They made some GooNow they really sock it to their friendsFrantic friends and neighbors charge the doorThey caught a little whiff now they're digging it and seeking more

So follow me, it's good for youThat good old-fashioned Medicated Goo

Ooo, ain't it good for you!

My own homegrown recipe'll see you through

.

GODZILLA VS. KING KONG

.

Interestingly,
cowriter Jimmy Miller also produced a number of popular songs and
albums by other bands such as 'Blind Faith', 'Motorhead', 'Primal Scream'
and 'The Rolling Stones'. According to Wackypedia, Jimmy Miller's "father, Bill, was a Las Vegas entertainment director and the man who booked Elvis Presley into the International Hotel for his 1969 return to live performance."

Another band that Jimmy Miller produced was 'KRACKER' (at first,fiveCubans).

Wackypedia sez: "The band was originally formed in South Florida in 1970, but moved to
Chicago in April 1971, where they were introduced to producer Jimmy Miller. With Miller, they recorded their first album, La Familia, ...In
early 1973, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards developed an interest in
Kracker, resulting in a deal whereby the
band's second album was licensed for distribution outside America by
Rolling Stones Records, making Kracker the first band on that label. The
association with the Rolling Stones continued when later that year
Kracker moved to London and toured Europe as the opening act for the
Rolling Stones.".

MICK JAGGER WITH KRACKER: BERLIN, 1973

. Not all that surprisingly, 'KRACKER' recorded a cover of the Winwood/Miller song 'MedicatedGoo'....

.Alright
now, “you know the gig”... I welcome you (whoever you are) to vote for your favorite of these songs in the comment section
below. And feel free to tell us WHY
you chose one song over the other..After
voting here, I
suggest - actually I insist - you pop over to the blogs of the other
'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' participants to see which songs they have
chosen and vote there also.
(If their ‘BOTB’ blog bits aren’t posted yet, pour yourself two
shots of ‘Grand Marnier’ over ice – do it twice
– and then return to their blogs to vice
your voice
...vote
your vice
...voice your vote.) .Voice
Your Vote
@ ‘FARAWAYSERIES’
by clicking HERE. [NOTE: FAE is outta town and unable to participate in BOTB this time.]@
‘TOSSINGITOUT’
by clicking HERE.@
‘YOURDAILYDOSE’
by clicking HERE.@
'BOOKLOVER'
by clicking HERE.@
'MIKE'SRAMBLINGS'
by clicking HERE.@
'CURIOUSASACATHY'
by clicking HERE.@
'THESOUNDOFONEHANDTYPING'
by clicking HERE.@ 'DCRELIEF - BATTLEOFTHEBANDS' by clicking HERE.@ 'THISBELLEROCKS' by clicking HERE.@ 'THEDOGLADY'SDEN' by clicking HERE.@ 'CHERDOONTHEFLIPSIDE' by clicking HERE. @ 'ANGELSBARK' by clicking HERE.@ 'JINGLEJANGLEJUNGLE' by clicking HERE.@ 'WOMEN: WESHALLOVERCOME' by clicking HERE. @ 'ALEX CAVANAUGH' by clicking HERE. .As
I've done in the past, I will continue to return to my 'BOTB' blog
bits on the 7th and 21st of each month to post my own votes and
announce the winners in the comment sections..~
Stephen T. McCarthy.

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About Me

STEPHEN = The first person known to have been martyred because of their personal testimony of Jesus Christ (Acts 6-7). My foremost allegiance is to my Holy King, Jesus, who has been given all authority in Heaven and on Earth, and to His God who bestowed it upon Him (Matt. 28:18; John 20:17). ----- T. = Thoreau, as in Henry David Thoreau, the writer and staunch abolitionist who, in 1849, penned the classic essay 'Civil Disobedience' wherein he wrote: "I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave's government also." I abhor slavery and injustice in all of their forms! ----- McCARTHY = The Wisconsin Senator, Joseph McCarthy, one of America's greatest heroes, and the most unjustly vilified individual in our country's history! His unappreciated, rebuffed efforts to expose Communist infiltration of our government transformed this embattled man's name into a pejorative catchword: McCarthyism. If you still believe that Joseph McCarthy was the most evil American of the Twentieth Century, educate yourself today. Go to... http://www.knology.net/~bilrum/mccarthy.htm ...and see how you've been misled.